Ivy Thimble Quilt & Gift Shop in Victor is a quilter’s dream

Sunday

Mar 16, 2014 at 12:30 PM

By Matt Kotula Messenger Post

VICTOR — In the do-it-yourself age, it is not uncommon to run across intrepid DIY’ers making their own cheese, building a new sunroom off the back of the house or learning a second language in their spare time.

Yet among all these pursuits that may come and go, one that has stood the test of time is quilting. Quilts and quilting are often passed down through generations, but where is the local quilter to turn when that spool of thread is finally empty? When that bolt of fabric has suddenly disappeared?

Wielders of the needle and thread need look no further than the Ivy Thimble Quilt & Gift Shop. Located at 11 Framark Drive in Victor, it is a veritable quilting superstore, boasting over 4,000 bolts of fabric, as well as numerous ready-to-use patterns, quilting books, kits and backings — everything the veteran or newbie quilter needs for that next project.

Owner Trish Straight got into sewing years ago when she started making her kids’ clothes. Once the kids stopped growing, she took up quilting as a hobby. Seeing a need for a local, full-service quilting venue, she founded the Ivy Thimble in 2003 Eleven years later, it is located on Framark Drive and has won more than its fair share of loyal customers.

The Ivy Thimble is more than just a quilting supply store. It hosts regular classes and workshops where quilters can discover the latest designs, learn or improve techniques, or simply swap ideas. For the ambitious quilter looking to finish a jumbo-sized quilt-top project, the Ivy Thimble also offers long-arm quilting services on oversized sewing machines, which otherwise are only available for commercial use.

The Ivy Thimble is part of the nationwide quilting community’s grassroots regionalization movement, which usually takes the form of the “shop hop.” Multiple stores partner up, and customers travel to and shop at the various participating stores.

The Ivy Thimble provides a resource to the local quilting community, but Straight said she also tries give back.

“Quilters, we love to quilt,” she said, “but we don’t always have a need or a place for the quilts we want to make.”

Through the Ivy Cares program, the Ivy Thimble has helped facilitate the donation of brand-new handmade quilts for the Finger Lakes Dialysis Center and the Thompson Health Sands Cancer Center. After a tornado struck Joplin, Mo., in May 2011, the Ivy Thimble held a quilt drive and donated 400 quilts to the city.

For more information about the Ivy Thimble, including programs, lectures and classes, check out the store’s website at www.ivythimble.com.